Production of chemotactic factors and lung cell changes following smoke inhalation in a sheep model

An in vitro Boyden chamber technique, developed for quantitating sheep neutrophil chemotaxis, has shown that chemotactic factors are produced by alveolar macrophages following smoke inhalation, reaching maximum activity at 48 hours postinjury. The production of chemotactic factors coincides with a significant increase in lung neutrophils. It seems likely that the influx of neutrophils into the lung, with subsequent release of proteolytic enzymes and oxygen-free radicals, contributes to the severity of complications following smoke inhalation.